We finally have all 8 women in the Money in the Bank match set, now we just have to build up to the match on June 17th. Last nights Smackdown Live! started on the build up between Naomi and Lana.
We were lucky to witness, guess what everyone, a dance off!! That’s right we went back in time with the women’s division and witnessed a Diva Era type of event. Lana was welcomed to the ring by her husband Rusev and Aiden English, while Naomi was accompanied by The Usos. Lana obviously started off by going first because she is the best and number one. She performed the spinarooni to which I am sure would make Booker T proud.
Naomi was up next and relied heavily on her booty shakes and splits. After Naomi finished her dance, the two ladies danced together. Waiting for the good camaraderie to end, Lana took the first move by performing a neck breaker on Naomi. As Lana continues the attack on Naomi, Rusev and English attempt to pull her off of her MITB opponent. Lana then attacks Jimmy Uso with a slap across the face. Naomi gets the last laugh with a Rear View to Lana.
Naomi took to Instagram about the situation:
https://instagram.com/p/BjY7PoFB9y0/
Aiden English took to Instagram about the match made for next week involving him and Lana vs Naomi and Jimmy Uso:
In a WWE Exclusive, Naomi explains that she feels Lana is a backstabber:
After putting the dancing shoes to rest, the match for the night was Mandy Rose facing Carmella‘s MITB opponent, Asuka. Carmella was ringside at the announce table during the matchup. She repeatedly reminded everyone and their great aunt that she had beat Charlotte Flair twice. Flair beat Asuka’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania, so therefore in the champions eyes since she beat Flair, and Flair beat Asuka, then she must be better than Asuka.
General Manager Paige made the match between Mandy Rose and Asuka. Rose makes her way to the ring first. As Asuka makes her way to the ring, Sonya Deville attacks her from behind as she heads down the ramp. This sneak attack took Asuka a few moments to crawl her way into the ring. Once in the ring, Rose takes advantage of Deville’s attack on Asuka. Rose stays on the offense for at least half of the match. After avoiding the Asuka lock originally, Rose does submit to Asuka.
I’m ready for @WWEAsuka because #MellaIsMoney ? pic.twitter.com/rSLp2AibP6
— Smackdown Womens Champion (@CarmellaWWE) May 30, 2018
After the match Carmella does get in the ring to show she is not afraid of Asuka. She raises the title up high and they stare at each other. The confidence in Carmella is overflowing.
Becky Lynch and Flair are seen backstage after the match. Flair mentions how Asuka will beat Carmella, and then Flair will win the MITB match. After this occurs then there will be WrestleMania rematch between the two. Lynch disagrees, as she feels she will win the MITB match. Paige is snooping around behind them (it was a little creepy). She approaches them and reminds them of their PCB days. She ends up making a match for next week that sees Lynch face off against her tea partner Flair.
Lastly, we see Zelina Vega backstage interrupt Sin Cara trying to be friendly with her client Andrade “Cien” Almas. Vega shoots down Cara and lets him know that Almas isn’t interested in being his friend.
Thoughts: Well, we got a dance off ladies and gentleman. Yippee!!! This is sarcasm! In all seriousness, it was not too bad. They did focus on the storyline and let Lana get the first attack. They could of had a storyline with just having a normal match. Lana is one of those underdogs that I root for. I want her to get better and show what she has. People only tend to get better at their skill if they practice more. I am sure Lana has been continuing her training, so I am hoping she puts on a good show at MITB. I am excited to see how she will do in the match next week, hopefully picking up a win.
The Becky vs Charlotte match could be real good. I miss them facing each other, so this “friendly” rivalry will be good. This also could turn Charlotte heel which I feel is needed, big time!
I am impressed with Mandy. Yeah, I said it. Heck, the crowd was even chanting for her in a match against Asuka. She has it all, and I am definitely looking forward to what her future holds. I wish they wouldn’t have dropped the Absolution name.
I wish they would give Almas a decent feud. Since he has been on Smackdown, he has only faced local talents in squash matches. Maybe Sin Cara will be his first real feud on the main roster? Either way, I just want to see more Zelina.
Now that all 8 women have been announced for the MITB I can touch on the outcome more:
Charlotte and Alexa do not need this match. I am more okay with Alexa being in it because she was not in it last year. Neither one of them need a contract for a title match they can both just get.
Naomi and Natalya are middle of the road for me. I would be happy for Naomi to win it, just because I would like to see her more frequently. Natalya, well, she is not the best woman to carry the briefcase. Whoever carries the case I feel should be good on the mic. Natalya is not the most convincing.
Becky and Sasha I think could use the opportunity. They both haven’t been used in the title picture for a while. I think either one of them winning would help their careers at this point.
Lana and Ember Moon I feel are the underdogs, and I love an underdog story. I think this could help Moon’s character and Lana’s in ring performance.
To wrap this week up, I am sad there was no IIconics this week. They were the only women to not be shown at all and it made me miss them that much more. Oh well, the future is still iconic.
What did you think of last nights Smackdown? What were the high points and low points? Who do you want to continue to impress heading into MITB? Discuss the show in the comments below.
